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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Brazil on Wednesday he hoped U.S. diplomats would get access to detained American Paul Whelan “within the next hours” to learn more about the circumstances of his arrest. | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Pompeo 'hopeful' for consular access to detained American in Russia

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday expressed hope that U.S. officials in Russia would get consular access to an American citizen who has been detained in Moscow on charges of spying.

Paul Whelan, a retired Marine who works as a global security director for a Michigan-based auto parts supplier, disappeared over the weekend in Moscow, where his brother said he was set to attend the wedding of a friend. Russia’s Federal Security Service, essentially the Kremlin equivalent of the CIA, said on Monday that he was caught “during an espionage operation,” accusations his family has vehemently denied.

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Speaking to reporters in Brazil on Wednesday, Pompeo said he hoped U.S. diplomatic officials would get access to Whelan “within the next hours” to learn more about the circumstances of his arrest.

“We have made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges, come to understand what it is he’s been accused of and if the detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return,” he said.

In an interview Wednesday morning on CNN, Whelan’s twin brother said Pompeo’s remarks were “the first we’d heard” of the possibility of consular access.

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“It’s great to hear him say it,” David Whelan said.

Whelan’s arrest comes on the heels of guilty plea by Russian national Maria Butina on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent in the U.S. Russia’s government has accused Washington of fabricating the accusations against Butina, who is alleged to have sought access to Republican circles with the intent of influencing U.S. policy toward Russia.

It also comes as U.S. relations with Russia remain strained amid an ongoing probe into Moscow’s interference in U.S. elections that has yielded indictments and fresh sanctions on Russian citizens and businesses.